Hello December

I was going to say Welcome December but I’ve realized I’m not ready. Where has 2016 gone! I can relate now to the old folks that sit around and say “Where does the time go?”

No snow yet but we can see it on the forecast…. Maybe Monday. We sure have ice already. Forming in any container left outside and in between the wrinkles of tarps leaving the neatest formations! This time of year is a mix between things slowing down and speeding up. The weather makes us all slow down a bit but the holidays move quickly. It’s important to find time to just enjoy the season. My brother, Sam, came back to visit for Thanksgiving and when I noticed a bald eagle eating down by the White Salmon River below the highway we had to stop! We ended up seeing 6 or 7 eagles! They were well aware of us and left their kill but hung out in the near by firs. Such awesome creatures!

As for boat progress, a lot of material ordering and runs into Portland at the moment. We’ve ordered fiberglass cloth and cold-weather epoxy resin to glass the deck. Also, today we ordered, caulking irons and ruffly 840 ft of caulking cotton to start. Can’t break the bank all at once. Still working out interior layouts and therefore have not completed the cabin roofs. Cleaning and other small tasks always can be done…. even though it doesn’t feel like progress we have to remember that it is 🙂

When I asked about the plywood deck beams, part of what I was thinking was you could notch them and the notch would sit on the cabin top sides and you could cover with some “cheap” plywood. That will give you the finished look for motivation, but still leave the ability to take the entire top off when you start the interior.

Or maybe just construction the cabin top so it is always removable then launch and build the interior somewhere in Mexico and get out of the cold!

We got our first snow/freezing rain here in Michigan yesterday and I now I would be sorely tempted to sleep on a bare hull while sailing south to escape!

I would love to see the boat in person and show it to my three boys (ages 5, 8 & 11). I’m down in Salem a couple of hours away. Any chance of a meeting? It’s not often when a traditional built boat of this magnitude is being built by someone other than a boatyard close by. Thanks for all the great info and videos.